Hey guys,
I own a sensation with stock JB and LOVE android and google's interface to death. I need a laptop for school to take notes and the transformer fits the bill. I keep reading about the wifi bug and am wondering how bad it is? Is it just some devices or all, will I have trouble connecting to networks like a busy library or somewhere weak/loaded with users. I dont really care about GPS, I have my phone with a data plan for that. I was thinking of the tf300 but am worried about breaking the glass and I get the feeling it is fragile as it is not gorilla glass. The infinity is a little out of price range although I am considering trying to buy a used prime from futureshop with extended warranty(owned by bestbuy) and return it and hope for the prime
I dont know about custom roms but Get the Prime only if you're satisfied with casual gaming or browsing, using the prime for school work is just like placing yourself at the edge of a cliff, you'll never know when it'll crash, screen glitch or have a random reboot. File transfers rate using a thumbdrive is dirt slow. The best advice is to wait for the jellybean release and to examine the results and make a decision from there
I love my prime its my 6th but I've finally got a good one. If u get one check the screen very carefully...
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using xda premium
People who use a custom rom with some tweaks are very happy with it. I use stock and wait for JB. If that does not fix things - I will just install a custom ROM.
Rooted user with ATPTweak and Browser2RAM here. I am very satisfied with my device, using it for college classes and it didn't fail me once. It is great to take notes in SuperNote. Combine that with a camera that is actually good enough to "screenshot" the board from afar and you've got yourself the perfect educational device.
I don't have any of the issues described by other users, except for the occasional ANR when updating apps and using the tablet at the same time.
Very Happy
I bought a second hand one from Craigslist that came with the keyboard. I could not be more satisfied. I know the GPS does not work but I have never needed it. It may reset itself or have an ANR a few times a week, but I game, surf, watch videos all on stock with no problems. I constantly put new ROM's on my phones, so I am sure it could do it on the Prime, but I have never had the need. As to the wireless, it is a little weaker to pick up than say my HTC Sensation, but not so much that it is a problem. My daughter has the Nexus 7 with JB and I think the Prime will only get better with JB.
DeKubus said:
Rooted user with ATPTweak and Browser2RAM here. I am very satisfied with my device, using it for college classes and it didn't fail me once. It is great to take notes in SuperNote. Combine that with a camera that is actually good enough to "screenshot" the board from afar and you've got yourself the perfect educational device.
I don't have any of the issues described by other users, except for the occasional ANR when updating apps and using the tablet at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exact same situation here. I'm not sure that I would still buy it at the same full price today, seeing how close in specs the Nexus 7 is, but it's still a really nice device.
Put reddit.com/r/aaw on the screen and it's also a chick magnet.
waltthizzney said:
Hey guys,
I own a sensation with stock JB and LOVE android and google's interface to death. I need a laptop for school to take notes and the transformer fits the bill. I keep reading about the wifi bug and am wondering how bad it is? Is it just some devices or all, will I have trouble connecting to networks like a busy library or somewhere weak/loaded with users. I dont really care about GPS, I have my phone with a data plan for that. I was thinking of the tf300 but am worried about breaking the glass and I get the feeling it is fragile as it is not gorilla glass. The infinity is a little out of price range although I am considering trying to buy a used prime from futureshop with extended warranty(owned by bestbuy) and return it and hope for the prime
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for your original question there is no WiFi bug. On many primes there is a physical manufacturing issue where they did not get proper contact between the antennas that are on the glass side of the device and the ground points with the backplate. Is causes the signals to attenuate at fairly short distance from the router. Don't buy it if they don't let you test it against another tablet unless you plan on opening it up and fixing the issue.
As for what everybody else says, yes stock software is buggy and annoyingly unstable. Jelly bean seems to fix most of what ails the prime. Again I wouldn't buy one unless you plan on voiding the warranty and unlocking for a custom ROM.
Your last sentence bothers me about getting the prime cheap and trying to exchange for what I assume you meant to say was an infinity. Why not just switch the price tags in the store or even easier, steal one?
Its the keyboard
waltthizzney said:
Hey guys,
I own a sensation with stock JB and LOVE android and google's interface to death. I need a laptop for school to take notes and the transformer fits the bill. ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One thing I didn't see anyone mention is the keyboard dock and how its (to my knowledge) unique among Android tablets. The keyboard dock has a usb port that works with everything I've thrown at it including flash drives, track balls, external hard drives, mice, usb card readers, and a usb wired Ethernet adapter. I can also use multiple usb devices at the same time using a small usb hub. About the only issue I've had is if I try to use the wired Ethernet and the external hard drive at the same time. Both work individually and also when used together with a mouse, but I'm guessing they draw too much juice to use at the same time - but that's hardly a limitation. As far as usefulness for school work/note taking etc, I would think the dock and its capabilities offers a huge advantage
As far as buggy software, many or most of the complaints I see seem to revolve around the built in browser - which I have basically never used anyway. I use Chrome and Dolphin and don't have any problems.
My WiFi also works more than adequately. I don't get as good a speed as I do with my Dell laptop but I get better WiFi speed than I do with my Droid 3 phone. So it falls in the midrange of my devices. At work, my office is on the other side of the building from the wifi router with an elevator shaft and a bank of metal file cabinets between me and the router. No device gets a very good signal at my desk. But even in that worst case environment, my prime gets a good enough signal to get my email and do light web surfing - which is as good as any device can do in that location. Its not a problem at home at all. It's not a speed demon by any means but I'm not trying to download huge files with it either (as some have said they do). Since I have a variety of devices available including a desktop and a laptop, I'm not sure why I would choose to do things like that using a tablet anyway. For a big download I'd probably do it on my desktop while I do other things with the tablet. Also, I'm guessing you probably don't need to be doing bit torrents and take notes in a class both at the same time?
Which brings up the question of weather its going to be your only device? If you have a regular computer (either laptop or desktop) I would not worry. IMO there are some tasks that tablets are just not well suited to and I don't see how a student could get away with any tablet as their only computer anyway.
All that said, here are a couple of points:
1. buying it specifically for the purpose of returning it is reprehensible. Don't do it. This sort of behavior is part of the reason electronics are as expensive as they are for everyone else.
2. Given that the Transformer Infinity is out and offers all the same advantages as the Prime, the only reason to go with a prime now is if the price is really, really good. I would say that to be reasonable, a used prime would definitely have to cost less than a new TF300 - since the new TF300 would have a full warranty. Unfortunately Amazon has $324 as the cheapest used prime while I would say no more than about $250 would be a good price for a used one (not including keyboard)
3. You could consider a TF300 which once again offers the keyboard dock with all its advantages for around $300 not including the keyboard.
ratman6161 said:
One thing I didn't see anyone mention is the keyboard dock and how its (to my knowledge) unique among Android tablets. The keyboard dock has a usb port that works with everything I've thrown at it including flash drives, track balls, external hard drives, mice, usb card readers, and a usb wired Ethernet adapter. I can also use multiple usb devices at the same time using a small usb hub. About the only issue I've had is if I try to use the wired Ethernet and the external hard drive at the same time. Both work individually and also when used together with a mouse, but I'm guessing they draw too much juice to use at the same time - but that's hardly a limitation. As far as usefulness for school work/note taking etc, I would think the dock and its capabilities offers a huge advantage
As far as buggy software, many or most of the complaints I see seem to revolve around the built in browser - which I have basically never used anyway. I use Chrome and Dolphin and don't have any problems.
My WiFi also works more than adequately. I don't get as good a speed as I do with my Dell laptop but I get better WiFi speed than I do with my Droid 3 phone. So it falls in the midrange of my devices. At work, my office is on the other side of the building from the wifi router with an elevator shaft and a bank of metal file cabinets between me and the router. No device gets a very good signal at my desk. But even in that worst case environment, my prime gets a good enough signal to get my email and do light web surfing - which is as good as any device can do in that location. Its not a problem at home at all. It's not a speed demon by any means but I'm not trying to download huge files with it either (as some have said they do). Since I have a variety of devices available including a desktop and a laptop, I'm not sure why I would choose to do things like that using a tablet anyway. For a big download I'd probably do it on my desktop while I do other things with the tablet. Also, I'm guessing you probably don't need to be doing bit torrents and take notes in a class both at the same time?
Which brings up the question of weather its going to be your only device? If you have a regular computer (either laptop or desktop) I would not worry. IMO there are some tasks that tablets are just not well suited to and I don't see how a student could get away with any tablet as their only computer anyway.
All that said, here are a couple of points:
1. buying it specifically for the purpose of returning it is reprehensible. Don't do it. This sort of behavior is part of the reason electronics are as expensive as they are for everyone else.
2. Given that the Transformer Infinity is out and offers all the same advantages as the Prime, the only reason to go with a prime now is if the price is really, really good. I would say that to be reasonable, a used prime would definitely have to cost less than a new TF300 - since the new TF300 would have a full warranty. Unfortunately Amazon has $324 as the cheapest used prime while I would say no more than about $250 would be a good price for a used one (not including keyboard)
3. You could consider a TF300 which once again offers the keyboard dock with all its advantages for around $300 not including the keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks guys..... Why I am buying it is because I want something to take notes on at school in class and when reading chapters in books. I use to have a macbook pro that got destroyed taking it to school on my bike everyday, now I own a Levano Y580... (beast of a laptop btw for a great price) but do not want to lug it around and want to just keep it at home. my last two questions are with note taking apps like the one mentioned, Can you save these notes as DOCS then open them on your windows pc in word? also can you use google docs offline like you can on windows on your prime?
also what are the common issues I should inspect in regards to hardware issues?
waltthizzney said:
thanks guys..... Why I am buying it is because I want something to take notes on at school in class and when reading chapters in books. I use to have a macbook pro that got destroyed taking it to school on my bike everyday, now I own a Levano Y580... (beast of a laptop btw for a great price) but do not want to lug it around and want to just keep it at home. my last two questions are with note taking apps like the one mentioned, Can you save these notes as DOCS then open them on your windows pc in word? also can you use google docs offline like you can on windows on your prime?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that's getting to more a matter of what software you want to use and how you want to take your notes. Handwriting recognition does not work for me...not on the prime and not on anything else I've tried. Even things that work for others don't work for me. My handwriting is so terrible that it just doesn't work. So I can't speak to that. And I absolutely despise on-screen keyboards as well for anything other than web surfing etc. So the keyboard dock is the biggest reason I chose the prime in the first place...though what works for you is for you to decide.
As to typing notes (which I assume is OK with you since you said you used to do this on a laptop) there are a number of options. You mentioned knowing Android well so I will leave it to you to pick apps that do the job for you. As far as what is on the machine as it comes out of the box, there is Super Note which I don't particularly like. There is also Polaris Office which handles Microsoft Office documents quite well in my opinion). Any 10 inch screen is not going to be that great (once again for me) to do detailed editing, but matched with the keyboard dock it works great for typing notes to be saved as Word docs and transferred to the PC later. However I mostly use Polaris office for reading documents others have sent me.
What I actually use for notes most of the time is Ever Note so that my notes get auto synced to my desktop PC. These can be easily copied and pasted to Word Documents if I wanted to though I rarely actually do that.
As far as Google Docs, I don't really use them but I don't think you can get at them off line (i.e. with no internet connection)
As far as carrying it around every day, well, the tablet can get broken too. So if your Mac Book got "destroyed" then I'm not sure a tablet will fare much better...a lot of it is made of glass after all. But if you are set on a tablet, I don't think the Prime is any more fragile than any other.
---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 PM ----------
waltthizzney said:
also what are the common issues I should inspect in regards to hardware issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a question that will typically generate a flame war on this forum between the people who have had problems and those who have not. I'm one of the ones who hasn't had any problems getting it to do the things I want it to do.
But I'll leave it to you to browse the forums and decide for yourself.
ratman6161 said:
Well, that's getting to more a matter of what software you want to use and how you want to take your notes. Handwriting recognition does not work for me...not on the prime and not on anything else I've tried. Even things that work for others don't work for me. My handwriting is so terrible that it just doesn't work. So I can't speak to that. And I absolutely despise on-screen keyboards as well for anything other than web surfing etc. So the keyboard dock is the biggest reason I chose the prime in the first place...though what works for you is for you to decide.
As to typing notes (which I assume is OK with you since you said you used to do this on a laptop) there are a number of options. You mentioned knowing Android well so I will leave it to you to pick apps that do the job for you. As far as what is on the machine as it comes out of the box, there is Super Note which I don't particularly like. There is also Polaris Office which handles Microsoft Office documents quite well in my opinion). Any 10 inch screen is not going to be that great (once again for me) to do detailed editing, but matched with the keyboard dock it works great for typing notes to be saved as Word docs and transferred to the PC later. However I mostly use Polaris office for reading documents others have sent me.
What I actually use for notes most of the time is Ever Note so that my notes get auto synced to my desktop PC. These can be easily copied and pasted to Word Documents if I wanted to though I rarely actually do that.
As far as Google Docs, I don't really use them but I don't think you can get at them off line (i.e. with no internet connection)
As far as carrying it around every day, well, the tablet can get broken too. So if your Mac Book got "destroyed" then I'm not sure a tablet will fare much better...a lot of it is made of glass after all. But if you are set on a tablet, I don't think the Prime is any more fragile than any other.
---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 PM ----------
That's a question that will typically generate a flame war on this forum between the people who have had problems and those who have not. I'm one of the ones who hasn't had any problems getting it to do the things I want it to do.
But I'll leave it to you to browse the forums and decide for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the reply...... Trying to decide between the tf201 which has a nicer screen vs the tf300 which has most bugs fixed and will not get as scratched!
I just got a new Prime on ebay for $300. Did I pay too much considering some of the problems I've been reading about?
kosenn said:
I just got a new Prime on ebay for $300. Did I pay too much considering some of the problems I've been reading about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just think you got it $200 cheaper than most of us and if you dont care about warranty all can be fixed or worked around other than (as far as i know) bt/wifi dropout http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1443868&highlight=dropout.
I just got my Prime 201. I tried to upgrade from 3.2.1 and it shows no updates available. The build number is HTk75.us_epad-8.8.3.33-20111223.
kosenn said:
I just got my Prime 201. I tried to upgrade from 3.2.1 and it shows no updates available. The build number is HTk75.us_epad-8.8.3.33-20111223.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so go to asus and download one if its available. they have instructions there too. This is of course not in the least bit applicable to the thread you have posted in. (OMG listen to me, I have become my father)
Related
It is quite expensive to buy tab so if I decide to buy it I would like to get the best there is for my money.
So please share your experience, are you happy about it? Are there any major problems or bugs which you experienced? Is stock ROM good? Is it worth rooting? Basically whatever you think it's worth mentioning before I buy it.
and also is it possible to plug USB keyboard?
Sent from my Sensation using XDA App
Yes
I have had it for a week now and yes, I would say it was worth it. My only disappointment was that it does not have 2G / 3G voice capabilities. So I still have to carry a regular cell phone. But I have used the data side with Skype and it works great. I am hoping someone on XDA will hack the dialler functionality soon!
Value is a personal thing, very subjective.
The fact that you're asking about plugging in a keyboard indicates the desire to use the tablet for more than content consumption (videos, music, simple web browsing, reading). Not sure if this would be your first tablet but if you're looking to do any type of serious work on one tread carefully.
I got my Verizon LTE version fully understanding that I'd use it purely as a content consumption device. As such I'm VERY satisfied with it. I have no expectations to do any work related stuff on it other than read and respond to emails as the kind of work I do can't be done on a tablet anyhow.
Things I like to do with it include web browsing, watching downloaded TV shows (EZTV.it downloads), watching my bluray rips (be warned, tegra 2 chipset has specific limitations on codec/encoding settings so don't expect all types of 1080p encodes to work) reading news, browsing youtube and listening to streaming music.
My tablet came with Honeycomb 3.1 and that was LAGGY out of the box. Changing to ADW Launcher EX helped a lot but going to the leaked 3.2 ROM and putting on a different kernel is what helped the most so to answer your question - hated stock, rooted . . love being on non-stock rom and kernels.
Thank you guys. Reason why I'm asking is that my laptop died yesterday and I need mobility of a laptop around the house but I don't like them, they are often poorly build, battery is not doing well and it is expensive to change and many more reasons. So I think it's time to end that nonsense and buy desktop PC for all kind of work and tablet for entertainment, Web surfing, Ebay communication. However I do like to write long emails and I'm not a fun of touchable keyboard, that is why I'm asking is it possible to plug regular one.
I never had tablet before, but I have now two Android devices and I am aware about some limitations, that is why I will by desktop PC as well. Waiting for more opinions. Thanks.
Sent from my Sensation using XDA App
Anyone?
Sent from my Sensation using XDA App
played with it 30 min at shop today, wasn't impressed, seem like a good device but it did not dropped my jaw with performance so I decided to w8 few months and I will try to get cheaper from Ebay, bought desktop PC today anyway
Biggest reason why I decided not to buy it is that stock ROM did not impressed me so I will w8 for cheaper opportunity and root it and get custom ROM
Sent from my Sensation using XDA App
if you have patience to wait for transformer prime, don't go for this tab.
Two suggestions:
1) don't judge a tablet just by its specs and performance (it's like a car: just because it has a great engine doesn't mean it's fast, and certainly doesn't mean the seats are comfortable....). A light and easy to hold tablet is worth way more than a fast tablet with many ports and sharp edges (take my word, I tried 6 tablets before I found the GT10.1.). (Just to be clear, the GT10.1 is and will be the fastest tablet you can get until the Transformer Prime is launched).
2) don't judge a tablet by the stock ROM performance. If you know enough to find XDA, you should know that stock ROM and custom ROM are night and day... Keep this in mind for new tablets (it will be a few months before the Transformer Prime ROMs mature).
leyus said:
Thank you guys. Reason why I'm asking is that my laptop died yesterday and I need mobility of a laptop around the house but I don't like them, they are often poorly build, battery is not doing well and it is expensive to change and many more reasons. So I think it's time to end that nonsense and buy desktop PC for all kind of work and tablet for entertainment, Web surfing, Ebay communication. However I do like to write long emails and I'm not a fun of touchable keyboard, that is why I'm asking is it possible to plug regular one.
I never had tablet before, but I have now two Android devices and I am aware about some limitations, that is why I will by desktop PC as well. Waiting for more opinions. Thanks.
Sent from my Sensation using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own all three device types; four if you count my phone and my experience is this: my Tab used to be my wife's tab. Until she broke the screen, but she gave it to me because using it gave her RSI in her shoulder... the kind you need a fysiotherapist to look at and massage out. Holding it in front of you (lifting it) for extended periods time isn't recommended; you need to rest it on your lap or desk once in a while.
My experience with the tablet so far is that it's good for checking your email, your facebook/twitter/g+, browsing and the occasional game (Apparatus is really good on the Tab). However, if you're going to do more typing than 5 or 6 lines (long emails), you're better of with something that has a keyboard, like your desktop. Not only is it faster, it is way more comfortable. I wouldn't use my Tab to post this.
If you're planning on plugging a keyboard into a tablet, in other words: trying to make a tablet into a laptop, in my book you are doing it wrong and you would've been much better off buying a simple laptop. IMHO a tablet is not a laptop replacement. However, I do think it is possible using an OTG usb plug to use a keyboard with the Tab if you really want to; most likely you will need to run a custom 3.2 ROM. A mate of mine with a Transformer had loads of problems with the external keyboard on 3.1.
So what does it add to my desktop/laptop/phone I already have you may ask? Well, I'm gonna try and see if it works as an electronic notepad. My desk is littered with sheets of A5 paper filled with scribbles of meetings and ideas. I've ordered a Dagi P507 stylus (should be accurate with a capacitive screen) and I hope that it will work reasonably well in combination with handwriting recognition.
Also it just looks sexy on the coffee table.
So it's great for occasional use (look up imdb during a movie), but it's just not very good at "normal" productivity. IMHO it's a nice-to-have: I would not buy one if I didn't already have a laptop and a desktop.
If you use a custom Rom and one of the nice kernels this tablet performes well. There are some Keyboards availablefor example
amazon.com/GSAstore-Bluetooth-Keyboard-Designed-Samasung/dp/B005MEHB1K
Thanks for all the opinions guys, I will anyway w8 till price goes down, I am kind of sceptical about rooting and losing warranty on device worth 400 pounds. I already felt worried about this with my HTC sensation which was much cheaper. If the price will drop to about 300 our if I can get it fairly cheap second hand then I will buy it so I guess I will w8 with it.
Sent from my Sensation using XDA App
AnandTech calls the Transformer Prime the "Best Android Tablet on the market"
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Review Part II: Battery Life & More
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5175/asus-transformer-prime-followup
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime Review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jXRoO06aACQ
Yeah, found this really interesting when it was posted here yesterday. A lot of good information.
its easy to be the best when you're the only one running tegra 3....for now....
Its left to be seen how long it'll be "the best".
what's most interesting is that he explains that there was, in fact, a wifi problem. Explains what it was, and how ASUS fixed it temporarily.
I expect we might find in newer revs that the wifi has been placed behind a plastic disk in the back aluminum plate because a dual antenna solution doesn't appear to be a perfect fix.
I think it was a rush bandaid done on a huge mess of production tablets to meet preorders. I think they will have a newer solution once it starts shipping to Europe.
jptech said:
what's most interesting is that he explains that there was, in fact, a wifi problem. Explains what it was, and how ASUS fixed it temporarily.
I expect we might find in newer revs that the wifi has been placed behind a plastic disk in the back aluminum plate because a dual antenna solution doesn't appear to be a perfect fix.
I think it was a rush bandaid done on a huge mess of production tablets to meet preorders. I think they will have a newer solution once it starts shipping to Europe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt it. When they got a unit with both antennas working they had perfectly fine wifi performance so I doubt they would make a design change when its working fine. Plus I think a plastic window would look pretty bad on that brushed aluminum backing.
I felt Anand's review was slightly biased towards Apple because he really likes the MBA.
Basically, he said it was better than a netbook, but not good enough to replace an ultrabook/MBA. IMHO, if it's better than a netbook, it's good enough for probably 90% of the users. The MBA isn't exactly what I would call a "real" laptop in any case.
As far as I can recall, no review sees the big picture of how having one device that replaces two (tablet+laptop) ultimately simplifies computing (and life). Oh well.
joe_dude said:
I felt Anand's review was slightly biased towards Apple because he really likes the MBA.
Basically, he said it was better than a netbook, but not good enough to replace an ultrabook/MBA. IMHO, if it's better than a netbook, it's good enough for probably 90% of the users. The MBA isn't exactly what I would call a "real" laptop in any case.
As far as I can recall, no review sees the big picture of how having one device that replaces two (tablet+laptop) ultimately simplifies computing (and life). Oh well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's absolutely true that, for many people, a TF/Prime+dock won't replace a notebook. There's just not quite the right software yet, particularly in MS Office editing apps, and there are still some things that are just downright painful to do on an Android tablet (even with the dock).
That's not to knock the Prime+dock, because of course it's better for yet other things than notebooks. Incredibly long battery life, no heat (so can be used comfortably in more settings), etc. are real advantages.
Bottom line is that both devices have their place, which is why I'll have both.
joe_dude said:
I felt Anand's review was slightly biased towards Apple because he really likes the MBA.
Basically, he said it was better than a netbook, but not good enough to replace an ultrabook/MBA. IMHO, if it's better than a netbook, it's good enough for probably 90% of the users. The MBA isn't exactly what I would call a "real" laptop in any case.
As far as I can recall, no review sees the big picture of how having one device that replaces two (tablet+laptop) ultimately simplifies computing (and life). Oh well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? He recommended the Prime so I don't know about bias...
I mean he likes the MBA, yes. But, the air is a good product -- just because it's an Apple product, doesn't mean he is biased. (IMO the Air is a laptop) And he's right, the tablet with dock isn't very productive. (relative to more robust systems) I don't even recall if he said the Prime was better than a netbook -- because productivity-wise, it's not. He said it'll probably be okay for most users but he wouldn't go so far as to say that it was a "laptop replacement" or even a "netbook replacement".
In fact, I don't think he went far enough. This is not an ideal product to get work done. For real productivity, a computer OS is recommended. For tablet use (like quick emails and such) then yes, the prime is great. But, as I used my original tablet + dock, I came to realize that typing wasn't that great of an experience. The typing was slow on a lot of sites (the lag was very evident), it was missing spell check (that's pretty important for me), Google docs SUCKED on tablets, the keys were quite cramped (expected but still wasn't comfortable), excel/powerpoint editing was a pain, and Polaris was missing an auto save feature/spelling/grammar check.
I think some of these points are addressed in the Prime but I still think that if you are a person who uses office a lot (especially if you plan to do anything besides just word documents) then I'm not sure the dock is useful. In the end, I didn't even bother with the dock anymore since it was just an extra thing to carry around. I DLed a very cool thumb keyboard that proved extremely useful for typing on tablets. (I can't seem to remember the name and I sold my tablet + dock recently) It seemed faster to use the on screen keyboard than the dock in some instances.
I would also be wary about typing essays on this thing. I think they fixed most of the crashes but there isn't an auto save feature so I would be extremely annoyed if something happened to my work. (I had rare Polaris/Honeycomb crashes but they did happen) I want to think about what to type -- not worry about remembering to save every 5 minutes.
I actually think everyone sees this as a fusion of the laptop and tablet... but it's not. (and most of it is due to software issues) As a tablet, it was superb; but, as a laptop, it was extremely underwhelming.
I guess for me the idea that a small laptop (13-in and under) is "comfortable" doesn't make sense. Heck, I only find the 17-in ones to be good enough.
Not knocking (only) the MBA, but those laptop keyboards cannot compare to a regular desktop keyboard. And it's hard to manage many windows / data sources on a small laptop screen. On the desktop PC, I'm probably at least twice as efficient as on my laptop.
So, I think it's all relative. The Prime might not be great for long documents, but should be good enough, especially compared to the iPad.
strikethreeout said:
I actually think everyone sees this as a fusion of the laptop and tablet... but it's not. (and most of it is due to software issues) As a tablet, it was superb; but, as a laptop, it was extremely underwhelming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that the TF/Prime+dock is better as a notebook than a notebook is as a tablet. Not perfect, but it works in a pinch.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
He also was talking a lot about Honeycomb in the video review and at the end talked about seeing if it improves with ICS.
Was this tablet not meant to be a ICS launch tablet, if thats true then we cant really see how well it does until the ICS update is here.
wynand32 said:
I think that the TF/Prime+dock is better as a notebook than a notebook is as a tablet. Not perfect, but it works in a pinch.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me see you recalculate a 5GB Excel spreadsheet on any tablet. Same thing for a 10GB PowerPoint with imbedded video. Tablets are OK as desktop replacements for light duty, but the heavy stuff chokes them both h/w and s/w wise. Also, when you create complicated documents in any of the fake-Office products they appear funky to people opening them in real-Office. So typically you have to do some clean-up on a desktop or laptop with anything you create on a tablet.
BarryH_GEG said:
Let me see you recalculate a 5GB Excel spreadsheet on any tablet. Same thing for a 10GB PowerPoint with imbedded video. Tablets are OK as desktop replacements for light duty, but the heavy stuff chokes them both h/w and s/w wise. Also, when you create complicated documents in any of the fake-Office products they appear funky to people opening them in real-Office. So typically you have to do some clean-up on a desktop or laptop with anything you create on a tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Methinks you're missing my point.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Nekromantik said:
He also was talking a lot about Honeycomb in the video review and at the end talked about seeing if it improves with ICS.
Was this tablet not meant to be a ICS launch tablet, if thats true then we cant really see how well it does until the ICS update is here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Asus or any other manufacturer can use ICS on a product. The Zoom was the HC launch tablet but there aren't any official tablets for the launch of ICS. It's whoever gets there first. Samsung was the official launch partner for ICS in general with the Galaxy Nexus.
---------- Post added at 07:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 PM ----------
wynand32 said:
Methinks you're missing my point.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Must have... Other than the convenience of a touch screen, what can't you do on a laptop that you can do on an Android tablet?
BarryH_GEG said:
Must have... Other than the convenience of a touch screen, what can't you do on a laptop that you can do on an Android tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you nailed it on the head: convenience. A touch screen with 16 hours of convenience.
I mean what is the point of a laptop when a desktop has twice the power for half the money, with a larger screen and better ergonomics, and can do a heck of a lot more? Same difference.
BarryH_GEG said:
Asus or any other manufacturer can use ICS on a product. The Zoom was the HC launch tablet but there aren't any official tablets for the launch of ICS. It's whoever gets there first. Samsung was the official launch partner for ICS in general with the Galaxy Nexus.
---------- Post added at 07:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 PM ----------
Must have... Other than the convenience of a touch screen, what can't you do on a laptop that you can do on an Android tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android apps???
BarryH_GEG said:
Asus or any other manufacturer can use ICS on a product. The Zoom was the HC launch tablet but there aren't any official tablets for the launch of ICS. It's whoever gets there first. Samsung was the official launch partner for ICS in general with the Galaxy Nexus.
---------- Post added at 07:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 PM ----------
Must have... Other than the convenience of a touch screen, what can't you do on a laptop that you can do on an Android tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, quite a few things, of course. Comfortably hold at an ergonomic distance for ebook reading and watching video. Use in settings where a notebook is untenable (e.g., lounging on the couch). And the touchscreen is more than just a "convenience." It affords an entirely different user interface paradigm that's better suited for a number of tasks (e.g., email triage, casual browsing, photo selection, etc.).
My point is that both types of devices have their uses, and comparing them is pretty meaningless. If a person can only afford one, then that person would need to really assess their needs before choosing one over the other. Saying a notebook is the better device is like saying a car is better than a motorcycle--which is only true if you evaluate the motorcycle by the standards of a car. Judged by the standards of a motorcycle, a car falls short.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
wynand32 said:
Well, quite a few things, of course...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I finally got what you're saying and mostly agree. This thread-within-a-thread started with the limitations of a tablet for heavy duty computing which is true. I bought a tablet (in addition to a laptop) for all the reasons you listed. It's a fantastic consumption device. If someone owns both they can pick the one that suits what they're doing at the moment best. To pick only one is a personal choice depending on what it's going to be used for. I think a couple of us just wanted to, from experience, make sure others didn't think that tablet+keyboard+Teg3 is going to do all that a Windows or iOS laptop can do and as well. Anyone that's lost a couple of pages of work in a fake-Office product will attest to that.
Assuming you have access to a desktop machine somewhere, RDP/VNC is quite good at solving these heavyweight application needs - or the question of how to access an IE-only web interface on a tablet. It isn't perfect, and it won't solve all of the issues, but I can see it maybe making quite a difference to the way most of us use PCs.
This worries me: "Aluminum does a fairly good job of attenuating RF signals, which contributes to worse range on WiFi than the original plastic Eee Pad Transformer. WiFi performance at the edge of reception as well as the maximum usable WiFi range are both noticeably lower than its predecessor."
My current Transformer is barely registering my WiFi router when I'm in other room. I'll have to change the router or sth.
A positive prime thread. I've had mine for two weeks now and this week was exactly what I bought the prime for. Work sent me off on a week long seminar course.
daytime, I used the prime for notes in the seminar. Running quick office HD was easy. The keyboard was able to cope with my typing speed (80wpm) and inbetween note taking I was checking email and a bit of web browsing during the boring bits of the seminar using my HTC sensation as a wifi hotspot.
Lunchtime involved angry birds, cut the rope, some comic viewing using the ACV app (awesome)
evenings was web browsing, movie playback, more games and some email, facebook use.
It lasted a full day easily, coped with everything like a trouper and was exactly why I wanted one of these things.
awesome
Glad to hear it worked out great for you. Battery life is great on this. Do you use stock keyboard or you bought a 3rd party one or keyboard dock?
I'm glad to see another positive thread about it. Hopefully more threads like these will crop up!
I'll be travelling to Dallas in about 2 and a half weeks so I will see how it works out for me as well
The flight, including layovers, is 9 hours...
Same here. My prime rocks. Not sure about all these negative reviews lately.
Maybe its a bunch of apple fanboys blasting the board to give the tablet a
bad rep... cant wait until we can get a unlocked bootloader and some roms
to really see this thing fly!
Another happy prime user here! I am a medical student and use it all day looking up clinical information and using citrix to access patient information. I couldn't be happier!
We have three people here in our firm who are very happy Prime owners. The other two are first-time Android device owners. Our units came in around the same time and none of us have had any (ANY!) of the negative issues mentioned in these forums. Not one.
Not to say those users are imaging their problems nor am I calling them liars, but these tablets are fantastic. The WiFi is comparable to my Xoom, the AGPS (thought I hardly ever use it for navigation) works fine, the Bluetooth is flawless, there is no screen tearing, etc. I have watched a movie on my train ride this morning and a show (one episode) for lunch and little but of downloading, tinkering and emailing here and there... I still have more than 50% left after 9 hours of on and off usage. I've also switched between modes while I used it.
Though my experience wasn't measured in a scientific manner, it tells me one thing: For my use, this tablet has exceeded my expectations. For what I want, and bought, this tablet for I can do everything I want to and then some. Keep in mind, I'm a long-time happy Xoom owner who is still very, very happy fond of it. My 2-year old son has taken over ownership of my Xoom which was what prompted me to buy a new tablet.
The Prime is THAT much better.
EDIT: I don't use my Prime for play only. I'm in IT working for a law firm. I use Citrix, remote administration, etc. I also do photography using my tablet to display each shot to clients rather than a laptop wirelessly. I didn't mention those because I thought that most Android tablet owners didn't buy their to use them solely as toys unlike iPad owners (lol). I just thought that that was a given. But yeah, my tablets since the Xoom has been corporate workhorses, not toys. I have every Bluetooth device paired to my Prime from headphones, mice and keyboards to PS3 controllers. The Prime is a beast.
Oh, and the other Prime owner in our firm is also IT and the other is an office manager. So I'll leave it to your imaginations what we do with our tablets. Lol.
Erusman said:
Same here. My prime rocks. Not sure about all these negative reviews lately. Maybe its a bunch of apple fanboys blasting the board to give the tablet a bad rep...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or maybe it's just people who haven't been as lucky as you in receiving an issue free device. Glad it works great for you guys. I wish my experience was as positive.
Oh, and wouldn't be caught dead using an iDevice!
As a curiosity about the note taking, I want to know; why QuickOffice? For me, taking notes should be something I would want to access everywhere. So why not use Evernote or similar competitors?
I find that in lectures I take long notes with Evernote, save them, and then I have to use my laptop to program hours later and I find it easier to have Evernote displayed on there.
This thing is awesome. I use it the same way I did with the OG Transformer, except it is so much faster, sleeker, and a hell of a lot better build quality.
have been using prime for over a week and found nth wrong with it other then weak gps signals but the rest are okay.
I noticed a few days ago that my GPS DOES work (I used to think it didn't, I just had to wait a little longer for it to search for satellites). So that made me happy (though i'm always around wifi hotspots and my position can be determined from that, so GPS on my tablet isn't a big deal).
so i'm guessing most if I have the dock...isn't it cumbersome to type, then trap the screen for whatever reason? And what if you need to draw something?
why bring the prime + dock instead of a laptop?
I'm mainly just contemplating in getting a dock...
I'll admit that I haven't searches to much for answers/opinions to my questions, so I apologize i'm advanced...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
xTRICKYxx said:
As a curiosity about the note taking, I want to know; why QuickOffice? For me, taking notes should be something I would want to access everywhere. So why not use Evernote or similar competitors?
I find that in lectures I take long notes with Evernote, save them, and then I have to use my laptop to program hours later and I find it easier to have Evernote displayed on there.
This thing is awesome. I use it the same way I did with the OG Transformer, except it is so much faster, sleeker, and a hell of a lot better build quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to clarify the note taking. I type straight into a doc file because when I go back to the office tomorrow, I need to transcribe them into a doc file to distribute to everyone.
the note program may be fine, but I need to know I can copy/paste it into word back in the office later.
lancer3397 said:
to clarify the note taking. I type straight into a doc file because when I go back to the office tomorrow, I need to transcribe them into a doc file to distribute to everyone.
the note program may be fine, but I need to know I can copy/paste it into word back in the office later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear about your positive experience with office documents. I really need this feature. I had a Prime but had to return it because it was stuck in bootloop.
I'm in college and I need the feature to take notes. However, I like to add the professor's drawings into the document so office documents don't seem to work as well for this. As a way to compensate, I use NoteEverything android app. I can take textual notes, plus make a drawing and resize the drawing to what ever size I want along side my notes. Plus, when I want to review the drawing, I can blow it back up and see it in full size. You can even do multiple drawings in one document.
However, I would love to be able to do this in some kind of office document so that it is transferable. Do you have any suggestions?
You could just use google docs, since it's already a syncing app you can install on your device. You can copy/paste once you get back to a computer. (in chrome at least)
Reasons to get a keyboard dock versus bringing a laptop? Battery life... for one...
In quickoffice, you can save directly to DropBox or GoogleDocs. It's pretty sweet. I like it much better than the included Polaris because of this--though it has less formatting options.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
This is my first tablet and it is awesome. I've messed with friends iPad 2's and they are just big iPod touches to me. Really toy like. My work laptop crapped out and I sent it to our IT department for repair (I can fix it myself but I don't mess with our work computers, I get enough of that at home) anyway, I've been using my Prime at work for everything I do on my laptop (i5 quad core) and the Prime did it flawlessly. I wish we would get rid of our laptops now and go with Primes. This is a great device.
Curious what your opinion is on changing a 11in MacBook Air for a Prime with the keyboard ?
I have a Galaxy Note 5.3 and a 10.1 Galaxy Tab, and have been a fan of galaxy series for a while so apple is not really my thing. However the browsing experience on the Macbook is amazing. I have Opera Mobile and the Go Browser on the galaxy note and i like those, however chrome on the macbook is pretty fast and does a great job. Plus the nice screen and comfortable keyboard, this makes it for a nice browsing device.
To enlighten the topic, i'll mention that i have already placed an order today for the Prime and should get it by the end of this week. Just wanted to get a feeling on the anticipation and hear your input on my question.
I have the dock and the prime and i love it the battery life is great experice is an all round great device i use it for notes videos i just got shadowgun for it but the only thing that my laptop can do is play games alot better and thats about it i think your gonna enjoy it. im not an apple person myself either
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
MEPEH said:
Curious what your opinion is on changing a 11in MacBook Air for a Prime with the keyboard ?
I have a Galaxy Note 5.3 and a 10.1 Galaxy Tab, and have been a fan of galaxy series for a while so apple is not really my thing. However the browsing experience on the Macbook is amazing. I have Opera Mobile and the Go Browser on the galaxy note and i like those, however chrome on the macbook is pretty fast and does a great job. Plus the nice screen and comfortable keyboard, this makes it for a nice browsing device.
To enlighten the topic, i'll mention that i have already placed an order today for the Prime and should get it by the end of this week. Just wanted to get a feeling on the anticipation and hear your input on my question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, first of all, you're going to hear a TON of *****ing on here about the Prime and plenty of people telling you not to get it. I ordered mine from HHGregg when they were $399. I got it on the 16th of January. I got my dock about a week ago. I have had one SMALL issue and that is it. I filled entire homescreen with apps and transition to and from that page was skippy. I put everything into folders and moved things around until it wasn't skippy anymore and no more issues. I have an Evo 3D and my wife has an Evo 4G so GPS is not anywhere near an important feature to me. I could care less if they completely removed it tomorrow. My wifi is on par with the Evo 3D and Evo 4G. I have very slight light leakage, which I even have on my Evo 3D. I just don't care. A brand new product will have some small issues and I totally expect some small issues here and there.
I'm not saying that these people don't have issues, I just expected them. My launch day iPhone 4, Motorola Atrix, Evo 3D and my Prime received on the 16th have all had some sort of issue. It should be expected of a BRAND NEW product. If you get one and it has an issue that you can't live with, exchange it.
I absolutely love my Prime and wouldn't trade it for anything else on the market. I use it everyday docked and not docked. I have even shown people at my work who have never even had a smartphone and they are now thinking about buying a Prime with the dock. I have been streaming Pandora, playing games and web browsing since about 9:00am and it is now 10:30pm here, my dock is at 82% battery and my Prime is at 73% battery. I love it, I don't have to charge my phone all day at work anymore because I use this now.
I even just typed all of that from my dock. It took a little while for me to get used to the finger travel and trackpad sensitivity but it doesn't bother me at all now. I'm sure if you're coming from an Air that finger travel won't be too much different.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Really appreciate your input. I don't care that much about GPS and WiFi is always within 1ft. I expect issues with it, but i also anticipate ICS will give a boost by the time i discover ALL the flaws.
MEPEH said:
Really appreciate your input. I don't care that much about GPS and WiFi is always within 1ft. I expect issues with it, but i also anticipate ICS will give a boost by the time i discover ALL the flaws.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. My wifi is always within ten feet or so, except at work and even then I don't notice any issues. ICS is nice. I like it a lot. I don't mind sense on my phone now that I have ICS on the prime. A lot of people said I wouldn't use the tablet as much because the OS is so similar to my phone but I find myself using my phone a ton less now.
Sent from my ICS lovin 3D!!!
If I've helped you in any way... hit the "Thanks" button.
As an owner of both it, could be done but it will depend on what you use the MacBook air for. For browsing, checking the web, etc... the prime will replace the air fine. You will lose out on a lot of other features though. Polaris office is not a replacement for office for Mac, neither are any of the other office apps I have tried to date. Light editing is fine but try and do work on a moderately complex document and it shows its limits.
Audio work is also not going to be done on android either. Finally I find network access (mounting shares and such) is easier on there Mac.
On the other hand I have a number of small apps that make administration actually easier to do from the prime than the air. Opinions will vary and again a lot will depend on what you are using the Mac for.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
I use Mac OS X 10.7 and Windows 7 a lot. And we all know Android and iOS aren't that great for productivity.
What I did was downloaded Splashtop HD (the one we already have does not use the dock's trackpad correctly) and have my server running whatever OS I need (Hackintosh).
I get an awesome OS and with zero lag on my Prime but I get its portability and battery life too.
I did a lot of programming right on the Prime on Mac OS X and everything works great. I should mention that when I am at my campus, it is pretty laggy because of the slow wireless network there.
Here is my opinion-
First of all i have always been a windows owner but used plenty of macs when i was in high school.
But the the big difference is web browser as you said. On a mac/pc the web browsers work just how they should, no layout flaws and it seems a lot faster. This being said i do believe the android browsing community will start seeing a lot more tablet optimized websites, or just realizing you are using a tablet and not a phone and sending you directly to the mobile site(of course you can change the user agent).
If i had the choice, in my current situation i would ditch the macbook and get the atp. Sure the web browsing might not be right at the moment but the mouse prevents most inaccurate clicks. Also you can customize everything! This is not a knock on apple but thats just what I want-customization. The docks keyboard takes getting used to but that wasn't a big problem for me.
Not sure about apples battery life but i love my primes battery life.
My current stats are(with the dock):
Unplugged from wall:3 days 14 hours 12 mins
Prime(not charging from dock):11 hours 51 mins
Battery left: 12% dock 85% prime
I'd say this is with moderate usage brightness at in the middle. and i am rooted.
GO for the prime imo
Hope this helps
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
lyon21 said:
Alright, first of all, you're going to hear a TON of *****ing on here about the Prime and plenty of people telling you not to get it. I ordered mine from HHGregg when they were $399. I got it on the 16th of January. I got my dock about a week ago. I have had one SMALL issue and that is it. I filled entire homescreen with apps and transition to and from that page was skippy. I put everything into folders and moved things around until it wasn't skippy anymore and no more issues. I have an Evo 3D and my wife has an Evo 4G so GPS is not anywhere near an important feature to me. I could care less if they completely removed it tomorrow. My wifi is on par with the Evo 3D and Evo 4G. I have very slight light leakage, which I even have on my Evo 3D. I just don't care. A brand new product will have some small issues and I totally expect some small issues here and there.
I'm not saying that these people don't have issues, I just expected them. My launch day iPhone 4, Motorola Atrix, Evo 3D and my Prime received on the 16th have all had some sort of issue. It should be expected of a BRAND NEW product. If you get one and it has an issue that you can't live with, exchange it.
I absolutely love my Prime and wouldn't trade it for anything else on the market. I use it everyday docked and not docked. I have even shown people at my work who have never even had a smartphone and they are now thinking about buying a Prime with the dock. I have been streaming Pandora, playing games and web browsing since about 9:00am and it is now 10:30pm here, my dock is at 82% battery and my Prime is at 73% battery. I love it, I don't have to charge my phone all day at work anymore because I use this now.
I even just typed all of that from my dock. It took a little while for me to get used to the finger travel and trackpad sensitivity but it doesn't bother me at all now. I'm sure if you're coming from an Air that finger travel won't be too much different.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aside from this fanboy post. I had about 2 primes. All had significant problems. Buyer beware
Pubnum said:
Aside from this fanboy post. I had about 2 primes. All had significant problems. Buyer beware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of problems? I really don't understand why so many people on this forum have faulty Prime's. Mine has no issues other than a faulty GPS but I don't care. My previous TF101 had a ton of issues but it seems quality control improved for the new one.
Where did you get yours and when?
I was actually deciding between the two recently and really it comes down to what you plan to use it for.
Really sit down and figure that out and the choice will be clear. For me, I have an old laptop that I use for word processing or excel and it's generally rather light.
So all I wanted was a portable machine that browses, does email, fun gaming, high battery life and video/audio out capability. That pretty much makes the prime the winner for me.
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using XDA App
I got the prime, loved it. It is sleek, fast, excellent quality. However, I ended up switching to a MacBook air 13"/4/128. For ~$400 more than the prime + dock, I get almost the same portability, worse battery life (5-7 hrs), but way more usefulness.
Even general 'entertainment' stuff, like watching streaming flash is better on the air since you can switch between programs and have the stream running in the background.
The one downside is that you can't use the air in tablet mode, so reading in bed is a no-go. Air + cheap tablet (playbook etc) might be a much more useful combo than just a prime. The prime is an excellent tablet, but a less than average laptop. Just prioritize your purchases based on this.
Buying new, I'd pick the Prime, probably even at the same price point. If I already had the Mac, I'd only upgrade if the battery life or tablet capability was.
For me, the battery life versus e.g. my Eee PC 1015, was.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
I just went whole-hog from an 11" MacBook Air to the prime plus dock in preparation for beginning graduate school later this month. Thoughts:
You notice the added weight because of the smaller physical size. That's *notice* not *suffer from*.
I plan on writing and reading with it. It has any one of a number of ways to write or take notes, and the kindle and google books apps are both loaded and ready. I have yet to see how many of my textbooks I can get through those options; either way, I'm pretty well covered, I think.
The complete lack of Java (not javascript, Java itself) in a browser is a downfall. I am going to deal with this by using RDP and my work computer, which is a windows machine, because it presents a better security system from out in the field. Splashtop is not encrypted at all, which probably means it'll run faster if I connect to my Mac while I'm at home, but I wouldn't expect it to be a good solution over two VPN connections (work computer to work server, work server to prime). Other browser-related issues come up every now and then, some of which you can get around by using the native browser's "request desktop site" option, but I had to go through native, firefox, dolphinHD, and finally Opera before I found a browser that would work with my university's trouble ticket system. That's almost 100% likely to be the university's fault for implementing a bad system, but whatever... I can't change that.
I am getting used to switching apps the android way and copy/paste in ice cream sandwich. It really isn't taking very long at all. Once I exchange my dock for one that's not bent, I think I'll be really happy with the point and click interface asus has come up with. I tried the gesture mode and it wasn't very intuitive, but I didn't try it for very long. I will say the only thing I really miss about pointing and gesturing is that I got used to the gestures for forward and back and expect them to work for everything on the tablet. Most of what I did with the MBA was web-based, so using forward/back gestures made a lot of sense. Now they're gone and I'm struggling a little to remember to use the keys.
Battery life is definitely a hell of a lot better than the Air. Mine had something like 140 battery cycles on it and was down to about 4 hours max, give or take, at minimum brightness. I definitely can get two nights of internet out of just the tablet itself, but with the keyboard dock, I think a whole day of library research isn't out of the question. The one thing I don't like is the length of the charger cabling and the seemingly frail construction of the sync plug.
I was initially worried about the sound output from the prime versus what I had in the MBA, and I can tell you the volume level I get is more than enough for what I watch, especially considering you can hold the tablet a lot closer to your head. The only problem I have is that if you rest it against stuff in horizontal mode, either your blanket and sheets will muffle the speaker a little bit or the power button will be pressed every once in a while. Minor problems, really.
I'm happy so far, just under a week into owning it!
I own both..
I own both and I would never be able to trade my MBA for TP.
Do not get me wrong. First of all I exclusively use Android phones and tablets and I am fairly anti-apple, but as much as I love my transformer prime, if it was my only computing option I think I would go nuts.
MBA is better for so many technical situations but the main thing that it crushes the TP in is web-browsing, ergonomics, backlit keyboard, multi tasking - I feel like I could make the list very long if I took the time.
The transformer prime excels in that it is Android which is cool and customizable, it has great battery life when docked, it plays games better (although I wish there were more available).
Essentially I love my TP but if I could only have one, I do not think you can replace a full fledged laptop with the TP yet.
Pubnum said:
Aside from this fanboy post. I had about 2 primes. All had significant problems. Buyer beware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I don't know how this is a "fanboy" post but whatever. All I did was say that issues with launch devices are expected and stated my experiences but if you want to take that as a "Fanboy" post, that's cool. I consider a "fanboy" post, the ones that iPhone/iPad users post that say:
iPhone user) "My iPhone is the best phone in the world"
Android user) "Really, why do you say that?"
iPhone user) "Because it's an iPhone and has more apps plus wifis and I got the one with bigger GeeBees!"
lyon21 said:
Ok, I don't know how this is a "fanboy" post but whatever. All I did was say that issues with launch devices are expected and stated my experiences but if you want to take that as a "Fanboy" post, that's cool. I consider a "fanboy" post, the ones that iPhone/iPad users post that say:
iPhone user) "My iPhone is the best phone in the world"
Android user) "Really, why do you say that?"
iPhone user) "Because it's an iPhone and has more apps plus wifis and I got the one with bigger GeeBees!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love my prime, but I must admit I do think that it merits some of the criticism it is getting. The last update vastly improved things for me, but I was 30 seconds away from returning it and I AM an android fanboy.
I got my prime a couple of days ago as much as i love it, its going to be returned because wifi is too weak. I will buy another one in hope it will be flawless but its annoying having to return it and wait again. Gps is also non existent but that isn't important to me.
Spurs027 said:
I got my prime a couple of days ago as much as i love it, its going to be returned because wifi is too weak. I will buy another one in hope it will be flawless but its annoying having to return it and wait again. Gps is also non existent but that isn't important to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's another good point. Although I find the Wifi as acceptable since latest update, the antenna still doesn't get near the speeds my MBA does.
restinbeast said:
Essentially I love my TP but if I could only have one, I do not think you can replace a full fledged laptop with the TP yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely agree with the majority of posts on here.. TP isn't strong enough as a laptop replacement. But it's perfectly fine when used to complement another device.
The best productivity aspect of the TP is the battery life!
If you've got WiFi you can RDP/Splashtop/Citrix to another OS for the productivity software.
If you're without WiFi you can write notes in evernote, do some light editing, save stuff in dropbox, etc etc and have it all sync up later.
As long as you're able (and willing) to adjust your work flow to make the most of the tools at your disposal you'll be fine.
....I think the answer to that is a resounding NO, I was willing to be patience and wait for upgrades etc to fix probs but having just upgraded to ICS Im very disappointed.
No fixes for various bugs (for me primarily wifi connection), and now I find my gps is not working for some reason, the device nearly went out of the car window yesterday when i was stuck on the A13 with no gps, but then I thought about littering .
Together with the car charging problems (had To buy an Inverter, more money), no hdmi socket no perifials, Car bracket etc, battery life, its not adding up to a good deal.
I originally bought a Ipad on the recomodations of a salesman and assurances that flash would work with it (yea right), so that went back in favour of the 'S', but what next, do I leave it at home and cut my losses (wad of dough).
Its seems that despite advances in technology we are always being used as guinepigs for devices that eventually end up on the scrap heap and never seem to last until the device is broken beyond repair but are dumped by the manufactorer in favour of another useless device, witness my Ipaq stopped supporting Windows, My Dell Streak mini 5 cant even get spares for them anymore, I could go on.
And we seem to accept it without protest almost as if its expected that we lay out loads of dosh for a inferior product, imaging the outcry if we bought cars (or other products) on the same basis, 'oh bear with us, sir, you will be able to drive from A to B as soon as we have sorted out the engin bugs'.
anyway sorry about the rant, Im still simmering from the A13 incident,
Well..
there is a reason why the most tablets still not 100% work like they should be,
Because the tablets like they are now are just still too new,
Better tabs are coming and more abillities are coming too, and then our
problems maby be fixed, Except then there are other problems because there are new things to do with a tablet and ofcourse a higher change to get problems.
I'm sorry to learn that you're upset with your tablet, maybe a tablet is not for you?
Would I buy the s again? Yes. I replaced a Windows Vista Laptop which finally died with my tablet S.
I took a long hard think about what I actually used my laptop for before purchase. Mainly sofa surfing, emails Facebook etc.More importantly it was to have this ability on the move. The small amount of application work could be relegated to my old desktop. I help run another website which has some flash parts so I that meant could not get an i-pad, besides I hate i-tunes.
With the S I'm now able to control my hifi with one device, manage DNLA media on my server, check up on emails and social networking and sofa surf all from one little lightweight and highly portable device. Chuck in free SatNav with Navfree also.
Most android devices could do all this to a certain extent however the IR and playstation integration made the Sony the only choice for me. I also find the screen a higher quality and the shape nicer to use.
Minor bugbears:
Direct communication with SD card socket - ICS fixes this
Lack of Sky go / MS Silverlight - will probably happen in the end
Missing MS Excel - some partial success with apps but would really like a proper MS version.
Would like it to be a bit nippier
Nice said!
Now thats what you call a nice short review. +1
To be honest, it seems like most of those problems could have been avoided with just a little research before you bought. Obviously, different tablets suit different people and if you wanted HDMI-out, lots of weird peripherals and a car bracket, you should've bought a Toshiba Thrive or a Samsung Galaxy Tab.
The Sony's features and advertised purpose are well-known and it is obviously meant to be a media device, and it excels at that. I'm not sure why your battery is not good, but mine far outlasts my iPad's. As for peripherals, as far as I'm concerned, if it'
s got mini-USB which can be turned into full-size USB with a short cable, thats all the peripherals I'm ever going to need.
I respect your opinion and your choice and for the record I don't have any WiFi problems and haven't upgraded to ICS (waiting for official) so I can't comment on that.
However, it seems as if many of your criticisms (including those of other disappointed Tablet S owners) could've been solved by a tiny bit of Internet research and some forethought about your buying choices.
In short, it seems harsh to blame the tool, if you're using the wrong tool for the job that you wanted
Sorry for the rant, but I love mine and am often mystified by these disappointed stories.
I have to agree with the above! I love mine because I did a lot of research before I bought it and realised the sony was the one for me. Does the iPad have hdmi out? I don't know I don't buy into all the apple crap. But if it doesn't then why bring it up. Like said earlier, if that's what you were after there's plenty of devices on the market that could have fulfilled your needs.
Sent from my HTC Desire Z using Tapatalk 2.0
-GPS problem is more of an Android problem, the SGS Tab and most phones have crappy GPS as well.
-The wifi issue is hardly a bother, come on. The tablet S literally takes a second to reconnect when you open up the display. It's really quick. How much do you really NEED wifi when the screen is off? Would it be great? Yes, but is it a dealbreaker? hardly not.
-I have no idea what you are talking about about peripherals. The tablet has a full sized SD card slot. I cant think of any other tablet which does. The MicroUSB does the job for connecting as well.
-Battery life has been good for me, even better than the iPad 2.
People can whine and complain all they want, but at the end of the day it is your fault for not researching more about a tablet that would suit your needs. You can't whine about the tablet not having an HDMI slot if you had a choice to choose one that did. Sony never lied and never stated that there was an HDMI slot. Battery life has never been a problem for most people, even the reviewers say the battery life is great. I agree, though, that the charger is retarded.
That said, it seems that those who complain about the Tablet S are expecting too much from the tablet. Sony have been very upfront about what it can and cannot do, and reviews have put this in the top 5 tablets for a reason. It's easy to criticize what something doesn't have, but people forget the good things about a device (SD card slot, great screen, universal remote, playstation etc.)
I am very happy for my table S and would definitely bye it again.
I have actually thought of buing a second as this one is so heavily in use.
I hated mine for the first couple months. Never had any probs with the hardware (nor any wifi/battery issues). For me it was just a crappy slow as firmware. I said on here once that it would all be fixable with root access.
Fast forward to present with me strappin' a rooted ICS loaded Sony Tab and you're looking at one happy camper . I've even adjusted to the fact I stuffed the screen a little when it slid off my car bonnet.
Does everything I want it too and the only time I turn on a laptop anymore is use the all in one tool on it .
Yes. Yes I would.
henly said:
....I think the answer to that is a resounding NO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm, well. Yes I would, and yes I did.
I have several tablets, a couple of Sony Tablet S's (16 & 32gb) a Samsung Galaxy 10.1, an ASUS TF101, and a couple of Kindle Fires (rooted and totally recreated as fine little tablets in their own right.) I've also had two iPads in the past, a v1, then v2 (those both went to the niece & nephew for Xmas, total kiddie ware going no-where.)
So, guess which one goes with me in the car and on the plane? Easy, the 32gb Sony. I throw the poor thing around like a paperback book, and it definitely takes a licking. Never complains a bit and still looks new. (Think airport check-ins, X-ray bins, getting banged around on plane tray tables & overhead compartments, etc.) Battery life is xlnt, the display is bright, saturated & Sony sharp, reading Kindle books is hand-natural specific, and... I can load my 64gb SDXC card with just about anything and everything.
Other than the Kindle Fires, (Kinder Panzers?) all of the other tablets I have either had (or have now,) are FRAGILE.
OK: The universal remote. I use the Sony S for everything in the house, especially the WD Lives... this thing is a godsend compared to the little piece of crap they give you for a remote! That Sony Tablet S remote feature sets up easy and remembers forever.
Also, I use either my HTC Desire or Desire HD to connect to the Internet, apply the wifi hotspot, then connect the Sony S to that. Skype calls for free. Wait, somebody say free? Internet and hands free International calls. Easy.
I could go on here, but there's plenty more.
Again, yes I would buy it again, and yes, I already did.
henly said:
....I think the answer to that is a resounding NO, I was willing to be patience and wait for upgrades etc to fix probs but having just upgraded to ICS Im very disappointed.
No fixes for various bugs (for me primarily wifi connection), and now I find my gps is not working for some reason, the device nearly went out of the car window yesterday when i was stuck on the A13 with no gps, but then I thought about littering .
Together with the car charging problems (had To buy an Inverter, more money), no hdmi socket no perifials, Car bracket etc, battery life, its not adding up to a good deal.
I originally bought a Ipad on the recomodations of a salesman and assurances that flash would work with it (yea right), so that went back in favour of the 'S', but what next, do I leave it at home and cut my losses (wad of dough).
Its seems that despite advances in technology we are always being used as guinepigs for devices that eventually end up on the scrap heap and never seem to last until the device is broken beyond repair but are dumped by the manufactorer in favour of another useless device, witness my Ipaq stopped supporting Windows, My Dell Streak mini 5 cant even get spares for them anymore, I could go on.
And we seem to accept it without protest almost as if its expected that we lay out loads of dosh for a inferior product, imaging the outcry if we bought cars (or other products) on the same basis, 'oh bear with us, sir, you will be able to drive from A to B as soon as we have sorted out the engin bugs'.
anyway sorry about the rant, Im still simmering from the A13 incident,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree with you. I mean, I like my tablet s, but I think I'm pretty tired of crappy problems/errors. I have an xperia x10i, and also there, other problems. This mainly happen because we have many different models and hw to be adapted to the operative system (this doesn't happen for ipad, just because they have a few hw models and just one corporate workin on sw). Sony produces beautiful machines and great hardware, but they always lack on software, don't know why.